In a tense two-hour meeting, the city's Stadium Authority board pushed through two controversial North Shore land deals over the objections of its chairwoman and a group that has been trying to extract concessions from the developer.

Board members voted 3-1 to sell one parcel of land and portions of three others to Continental Real Estate for $1.32 million for a proposed Hyatt Place Hotel. In the same vote, members also authorized Continental to continue as exclusive developer of the land between Heinz Field and PNC Park.

In a separate vote, also by 3-1, the board approved the sale of a prime riverfront parcel near Heinz Field to the Pittsburgh Steelers and Continental for $1.37 million. The four-acre site would be used for a proposed year-round $10 million entertainment venue.

The price for the land is about $300,000 more than was suggested in an unrelated court settlement last year. The disclosure at the time drew fire from city Councilman William Peduto, who saw it as a sweetheart deal and estimated that the land was worth eight times that much.

Both approvals came over the protests of board Chairwoman Debbie Lestitian, who argued that the option agreement giving Continental development rights had expired because the company failed to meet a timetable for developing the land. She also said the sales price was not a good deal for taxpayers.

Ms. Lestitian pushed for a delay in the vote, but could not muster a second to her motion.

She also voted against the sale of the entertainment site, saying the board had a fiduciary responsibility to taxpayers to get the best price for the land, which she called the "crown jewel" of the North Shore.

"Pittsburgh's a distressed city and we're giving away our prime riverfront property," she said, adding that the sales price amounted to $8 a square foot.

An appraiser hired by the Stadium Authority estimated the value of the land, given its intended use and expected revenues, at $1.1 million, slightly less than the sales price. He said the highest and best use of the property, one that would fetch the most money, would be for parking.

Frank Kass, Continental Real Estate chairman, also disputed the notion that the developer's option agreement on the land had expired. He said it was forced to delay intended development in part because of the North Shore Connector project.

The approvals also came over the protests of Northside United, a consortium of labor, environmental and community groups that has been trying to get Continental to agree to a community benefits agreement.

Michael Glass, chairman of Northside United, told the board the only way to guarantee that North Side residents would share in the success of the developments would be through a community benefits agreement that guaranteed good wages, preference in hiring and help in improving housing stock, among other demands.

But his arguments failed to win over board members.

Another board member, state Rep. Jake Wheatley, said he did not see yesterday's vote as an end to discussion about a community benefits agreement.

The authority will receive an estimated $815,000 in "unearned" development fund money that accrued to the Steelers and Pirates to pay debt service on an existing garage and will not be required to build a second garage on the North Shore unless studies showed it could support itself.